Raising the roof: Councilman Steve Levin said he is open to the idea of expanding Boreum Hill's House of Detention, which sits in his district, as part of the city's just-released plan to close Rikers Island's jails.

A Boerum Hill councilman said he is open to the idea of expanding the neighborhood’s 800-bed House of Detention as part of the city’s plan to close the jails on Rikers Island.

“I’m in favor of closing Rikers, there’s a capacity for jails in our Downtown area, and we’ve learned through the reopening that having a facility there isn’t terribly onerous to the surrounding community,” said Councilman Steve Levin (D–Boerum Hill).

The mayor’s proposal does not pinpoint any specific sites for expansion or for new jails, and says that it will be up to politicians to find spots where doing so might be feasible.

“Ultimately, closing all the jails on Rikers Island will depend not only on reducing the size of the city jail population to 5,000, but also on the willingness of neighborhoods and their elected officials to identify appropriate new sites,” it reads.

DeBlasio’s plan calls for reducing the population at Rikers’s jails from around 9,500 to 5,000 over the next decade, which will allow it to be dispersed among newly opened or enlarged facilities across the city.

Expanding the House of Detention — which currently holds just 466 inmates, according to city data — would require a city-approved re-zoning, which would hinge on support from Levin, as Council usually defers to the local member.

“The principle of having jail facilities next to our court is the right principle,” he said. “Downtown makes the most sense because it’s close to the courts, and one of the benefits to having jails decentralized is cutting down on transportation costs.

The pol acknowledged there may be community opposition, but said he has only received one complaint since the House of D’s 2012 reopening, which was about inmates peering into a neighborhood apartment from the facility’s rooftop recreation area.

The jail put up netting to block inmates’ views after that, and Levin said he has not heard of any problems since, a sign that expansion might not necessarily be felt throughout the neighborhood.

“It’s been five years, my office is down the street,” he said. “If people have complaints I probably would have heard them by now.”

DeBlasio has not yet approached Levin about making the jail bigger, but the councilman said he has had informal conversations with the administration about the possibility.

And the pol noted that he has not decided on whether or not to support expanding the House of D, but said concerned locals should consider how their worst fears about it have yet to come true.

“I’m not pre-approving anything,” he said. “It’s important to note that the experience over the last five years hasn’t been the worst case scenario.”

Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill

Reasonable discourse

Blogger Bill from from Boerum Hill says:

Firm no on further capacity at Atlantic Avenuesite.

June 28, 2017, 9:41 am

Henry Ford from Bay Ridge says:

Can't wait to watch all the limsouine liberals change their tunes regarding closing Rikers when they realize the prisoners would need to be kept in their gentrified enclaves. It's already started in the first comment.

June 28, 2017, 10:02 am

Donald Trumdfed from Boerum Hill says:

As a limousine liberal, I think it should be in Bay Ridge.

June 28, 2017, 10:18 pm

Henry Ford from Bay Ridge says:

Sorry lib, as the article states, the prisoners need to kept near the courts to keep costs down. Enjoy your new neighbors!

June 29, 2017, 6:05 pm

Corrections Expert from Downtown Brooklyn says:

I live in the neighborhood and don't have a problem having a correctional facility adjacent to the courthouse in Brooklyn. It makes sense. However, most correctional professionals and persons knowelegeable about conditions of confinement would agree that a jail's capacity should be limited to 500 prisoners. Anything larger than that is an invitation to disorder and trouble and would simply transplant the problems the exist on Rikers Island to our local community. Levin is completely clueless and his igonorance in this matter is disgraceful.

June 29, 2017, 7:51 pm

Henry Ford from Bay Ridge says:

Serious question, Expert. A high rise prison seems like a disaster waiting to happen for many different possible reasons. Why not just keep Rikers and make any necessary reforms?

June 29, 2017, 11:21 pm

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